10th Anniversary of the Center in Beijing

China’s economic growth over the past four decades has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and established it as an economic powerhouse. Today, China's economy continues to grow at rates unseen in other countries hit hard by the COVID pandemic. What is the key to China’s economic success, and what challenges does the Chinese economy face in the years ahead?

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The Rural Education and Child Health project (China REACH) conducts groundbreaking early childhood research that evaluates the impact of China’s nutritional program and training for caregivers on early childhood development. The project has scaled up throughout rural China and adapted policy based on the findings examined by our UChicago research team and the China Development Research Foundation.  Learn more about the health, cognitive, and social-emotional outcomes for children and how the China REACH project has strengthened human capital and community resources throughout rural China.

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The University of Chicago and Wuhan University first partnered on an HIV care initiative training over 10,000 health workers from 2003 to 2008 and reduced HIV mortality from 49% to 8%.  The significant impact of this collaboration led to a broader effort to reform medical education at Wuhan based on the medical curricula of the Pritzker School of Medicine beginning in 2008.  In 2014, the reform curriculum was expanded to all incoming medical students at Wuhan and the following year, the medical school was awarded 8 years accreditation, the highest possible in China. Collaboration also expanded to graduate medical education since China launched a national strategy of standardized residency training in 2013 in partnership with Chinese National Health Commission, the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the UChicago Beijing Center, and the Chinese Medical Doctors Association. Watch the video above to explore practical lessons learned from the reform efforts and their profound impact on quality improvement of medical education in China.

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Over the past decade, the Center in Beijing has provided institutional support to further collaboration between international scholars and artists. Two of the most enduring projects include (1) biannual international conferences on Studies of Ancient Tomb Art (a collaboration with Peking University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts) and (2) the OCAT Annual Lecture Series (a collaboration with the OCAT Institute). Both projects have become important channels for scholarly communication in the fields of art history and archaeology across national borders. In this conversation, the four chief organizers reflect on the development of these initiatives and the impact of this collaborative work.

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In the early 2000s, the government of China encouraged the nation’s 55 registered minority nationalities to develop local medical knowledge and practices that could work alongside the established institutions of traditional Chinese medicine and biomedicine. Dr. Farquhar and Dr. Lai will discuss their many years of research on 'minority medicines' and their forthcoming book Gathering Medicines: Nation and Knowledge in China’s Mountain South.  The book bears witness to a remarkable moment of state-led knowledge development while appreciating local therapeutic practices scattered through rural China.  This conversation offers insight into the research partnerships and field investigations that made possible a new view of medical diversity in China.

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Over the past several years, China has made swift progress in reducing its air pollution levels. Between 2013 and 2018, concentrations of small particulate air pollution—the most significant pollutant for human health—fell by nearly 40 percent on average, with larger reductions in key regions. However, continued progress is essential, and Chinese policymakers have signaled that future reductions must carefully balance cleaner air with cost-effective policies. In 2019, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) launched the Joint Center for Energy Policy Research in China. This unique partnership aims to support joint research at the frontier of understanding and addressing key energy and environmental challenges in China. Learn about the important work being undertaken by the EPIC-UCAS Joint Center and hear key insights from its inaugural set of projects.

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The chemical diversity of DNA, RNA, proteins and other biomolecules, as well as the interactions between them, create the complexity that underlies human development.  Scientists are applying chemistry tools and chemical knowledge to explore fundamental biological questions that will ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of life processes and human disease. Learn about this emerging discipline and the collaboration that positions PKU and UChicago as pioneers in this field.

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A number of external factors have changed the landscape of higher education over the past decade, with the pandemic and subsequent transition to virtual learning being only the most recent. The video below features a fireside chat featuring President Zimmer and Vice President Juan de Pablo as they reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing higher education as well as the enduring importance of international collaborations.

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